Competition winner

I won! With a last minute entry taken on my winter trip this photo won the competition. No fixing or bribery required on this occasion.

After storm pitching the pyramid tent Bruce prepares camp – a windy day on the ice.

I must admit I am quite pleased with this photo, just a quick snap of pitching camp has captured the scene pretty well. The blowing snow, silhouetted campsite, and dark heavy sky make for a moody shot.

With the kudos of taking the winning picture comes the job of making a frame for it, so that should keep me busy in the chippy shop for a couple of evenings.

Photo Competition

 

Each year the wintering team here at Rothera holds a photo competition for everyone with a camera and a little skill to show off their best pictures from the year. The winner has the honour of having their picture framed and hung on the wall with the growing collection of winning photographs from previous winters.

The categories for the competition are pretty varied and include; Landscapes, People, Wildlife, and Base Life.

I am submitting some of the pictures below as these are my best of the season so far.

Dive team and arched berg

 

   Hazy sunrise

 

    Sun Pillar

 

    Dive Team and Sea Ice

 

    Mirrored Berg

 

    Met mast and Star Trails

 

   Moonlit Bay

 

    Tern in Flight

 

   Weddell Seal

 

   Tabular Bergs

 

Incinerator at night

 

Star trails over Ryder Bay

  Sunrise

Sun Halo

Justin with new magazines

 

  Aurora and Star Trails

Antarctic 48 hour film competition

The Antarctic 48 hour film competition is an annual challenge set by the Americans on McMurdo station and is open to all wintering Antarctic stations of every nationality.

The challenge is simple; on Friday evening all competing bases are emailed a set of elements which must be incorporated into the film. This year these were;

• Character: A grumpy diesel mechanic
• Line of Dialogue: Has anybody seen my chicken?
• Sound Effect: Sound of a siren
• Prop: Mop
• Prop: Bottle of mouthwash

Random I know!

Each base then must film and edit their movie in the next 48 hours. These elements ensure that filming only takes place during the weekend of the competition.

All the films are then submitted and compiled online for each base to download and vote on their favourites. The link to all the movies in this years competition is;

http://cid-143586e833b2f7ce.office.live.com/browse.aspx/2010%20Winter%20Film%20Festival

There are some really great movies in there which look incredibly professional, especially when you consider that all the filming, editing, sound, and music was done in only two days.

My favourites and ones you should really watch are;

• KEP; Mission Unmoppable
• Davis; Fitness Month
• McMurdo; Who’s in the Galley
• Scott Base; Big Brother
• and of course: Rothera; From Rothera with Love

All the votes should be in in a few days so we will see how Rothera has faired in the competition.

I’ll try and get a few of the best movies on this blog so you can watch them direct – I cant at the moment as a few have copy write music on them so they get removed :/

Enjoy the movies!

Midwinter

This next blog is one which I have written for the' ‘web-diaries’ of the British Antarctic Survey website. The link to these web pages to see  other diaries from Rothera and the rest of the BAS bases is;

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/living_and_working/diaries/index.php

June – Midwinter

The month of June is one of great celebration in the Antarctic; it is the month when the days are at their shortest and the sun remains below the horizon. During this month we celebrate the Midwinter solstice, with a weeklong holiday on base centred around Midwinter’s day, the shortest day of the year and one which is full of tradition for Antarctic winterers all over the continent.

Rothera in June

For us at Rothera, June continued where May had left off, with strong winds and drifting snow. This combined with the short daylight meant that outdoor activities were heavily curtailed and some of the more active base members were beginning to get cabin fever. Most folk though were still being kept busy with other tasks, namely completing their winter gifts ready for Midwinter’s day. For myself and several others we were kept especially active by taking part in ‘Race Antarctica’, a challenge within BAS to travel the equivalent distance from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula to the opposite side of the continent; a journey of 6000km, to be covered as teams of six by running, cycling, rowing, skiing, etc. So throughout June the gym got a lot of use as the miles were racked up.

There were also four birthdays celebrated this month, those of Bruce Maltman, Mike Stainer (AKA Smiler), Jon James (JJ), and Ben Tibbetts.

Creative birthday cakes

On the 10^th June we marked the point at which the sun had set below the horizon (although we had lost sight of the sun several weeks earlier behind the mountains that surround the base). We congregated at the flagpole for Alan (our oldest base member) to lower the flag. This was by now rather worn and tattered (the flag that is not Alan), and back in the canteen, with a cup of tea to warm up again, it was raffled off. Mike our comms man won the flag and it is now his to keep as a memento of the winter.

Flagdown

With Midwinter imminent, plans were made for midwinter’s week and production was stepped up a gear to complete winter presents. All too soon for many, who were still putting on last coats of varnish and polish to their gifts, midwinter arrived and the day began with the illustrious Base Commander (me) delivering breakfast in bed to the folk of Rothera.

After digesting their breakfasts many folk emerged from their beds an hour or two later just in time for brunch. Never known to miss an opportunity to eat, the team sat down and powered through another helping of bacon, egg, sausage, beans, and tomatoes.

Their appetites finally sated it was time to move on to the next task on the agenda; the long standing tradition of watching ’The Thing’, probably one of the finest pieces of cinematic genius ever created, and a true representation of life in the Antarctic. Obviously we no longer have the dogs down here but I am glad to say that the flamethrowers, cupboards packed with explosives, and battling alien foes, are still a daily part of life in this barren wilderness.

At 4pm the evening’s festivities began in the bar with Champagne and canapés as we each gave our midwinter’s presents to their recipients. There were some fantastic and beautifully crafted presents to be seen; I received a framed, hand drawn panorama of the Ellsworth Mountains, a great reminder of my time spent down there. Other presents included an electric powered model skidoo, a handmade quilt, and potentially the oddest present was a framed set of fishing flies, each one made using the hair from each one of the winterers – strange but very nice.

The Midwinter presents

With the Champagne drunk and the presents given it was time for dinner – a lavish affair laid on by Justin our chef, it consisted of eight courses. After the starting courses we had a break from eating in order to head over to the comms tower where we could listen to an HF broadcast by the BBC World Service with a song of our choice (we chose Times Like These by the Foo Fighters) as well as messages from friends and family back home and even a special message from Rolf Harris saying hello to all us Antarctic winterers on the BAS bases.

Then it was back to the dining room for the main course of Marinated Ostrich Steaks with Red Wine Lentils (it really is tough out here in the wilderness). Dinner stretched on for several hours, what with deserts, cheeses, port, coffee, and more wine.

Justin at work and the first course

Midwinter’s Day dinner

The winter Olympics was organised by the GA’s during midwinter’s week and included such events as ski and snowboard slalom, ice climbing, javelin (using bog chisels), skidoo time trails, and box stacking.

Winter Olympics; Ice climbing and Box stacking

Midwinter’s week was also the first outing for the new Rothera band called ‘Snow Rhythm’. Despite the band name they certainly did have rhythm and performed some great covers.

Colette, Alan, and Justin

Snow Rhythm; the Rothera Band

The last big event of midwinter’s week was the pub crawl, when all over base bars spring up for one night only and the tour takes us from the Bonner Lab to Fuchs House and from the Electricians workshop to the Food Bays, each bar with its own theme, which this year included a casino bar, Texas penitentiary, and the bungee bar.

Bar Bungee – attached to the wall by a giant rubber band

For me another winter is passing its halfway point and again I am wishing there was more time left. This is a very special place and each winter team shares a great experience, I am lucky enough to be wintering with a fantastic group of people whom I look at as being much more than just friends and workmates.

Rothera Midwinter postcard

Dickie Hall

Winter begins – winter trips

With the departure of the last aircraft and ships we can now settle down into winter; with shortening daylight, colder temperatures, and few distractions from the outside world.

Throughout the first few weeks of winter we have regularly had four or six folk off base for a week at a time on their winter trips. This is an opportunity to get out into the ‘real Antarctic’ away from the modern comforts of base, going climbing, skiing, or sightseeing during the days and spending the nights in a tent. The camping equipment we use is probably something Scott and Shackleton would recognise; pyramid tents, Tilley lamps for light and heat, and primus stoves for cooking.

Pyramid tent

I was out on the last round of trips before midwinter, which was the second week in May. At this time of year the daylight is fairly short, dawn arrives at about 10am and it is dark by 5pm. This was still more than enough time to get out and about during the day which is exactly what me and my GA (called Cheese) did. Once we had set up camp next to a peak called Trident we spent the first day of out trip ice climbing in the gullies nearby.

Looking up

The second day we aimed for something a bit more adventurous and set out for an ice climb that had not been recorded as having been climbed before. The photograph below is of the peak but it doesn't do it justice as this is a 450 meter route and took us about five hours to summit.

Our route up the first gully on the right of the picture

Walking off the summit

The next day we had a lie in to recover from the exertions of the day before and climbed another of gullies close to our campsite in the afternoon.

By this stage of the trip the weather was beginning to deteriorate and the forecast wasn't looking great so on our fourth day out we did a spot of ski touring and reckied some other possible climbs for other days, but any hopes of further climbing were dashed because as the day continued the wind rose and blowing snow drove us back to our tent, the stormy weather set in properly that night and continued blowing for the next two days. At times we estimated that it was gusting at 60 knots – enough to keep Cheese awake thinking that we might loose the tent, and enough that whilst going outside Cheese was blown clean off his feet by one strong gust.

Ski touring

Digging out the tent

Eventually the weather did allow us to break camp and after a lot of digging to uncover the tent we packed up and headed back to the comforts of Rothera.

End of the Summer

The summer has now officially come to an end now that the last visitors we will see for quite some time have been and gone. These came in the form of two ships, we had the RRS Ernest Shackleton here at the end of March and the RVIB Nathaniel. B. Palmer here at the start of April.

The Shackleton was the last of our own ships to visit Rothera, she conducted ‘last call’, bringing in cargo and supplies for the long winter as well as the last two members of our winter team. She also loaded our cargo and wastes to take north to the Falklands or all the way to the UK.

The weather turned in the days leading to the ships arrival and we had a lot of early snow on station which covered the depot lines of cargo, neatly arranged on the wharf ready for loading and made it very difficult to get the large vehicles and trailers full of delivered cargo up the hill and into the base.

Shackleton at the wharf as the weather deteriorates.

Here's the 2010 winter team – the first picture of all of us together, taken on the Shackleton just before we sat down for a meal together. With the departure of the Shackleton there is now only the wintering team of twenty two left on station.

The Palmer was an unusual visitor for us at this stage in the season, normally once last call has taken place we wont see any other visitors until the aircraft return in October. This season though a team of American scientists have been working out of Rothera on the Avery plateau and the ice cores they sent back have been stored in freezers  on base. The scientists left Rothera some time back and only the ice cores remained to be picked up by their science vessel.  

Palmer at the wharf

With the departure of the Palmer we wont have any visitors to base until the aircraft return some time in October, so now we can settle down as a winter team and enjoy the peace and quiet on base after the busy summer season.

Tsunami!

Saturday morning of the 9th March made for a very early and strange start for those on base at Rothera, I was woken just before 6am by the base commander telling me that we had received a tsunami warning. The rest of the base was roused a  few minutes later by setting the fire alarm off in order to muster everyone in the dinning room for a base wide announcement.

Within thirty minutes we were loading up the Sno Cat with emergency supplies – medical kit, generators, fuel, food, stoves, clothing and had it sent up the hill, high and far enough away from base that it would be safe. Soon after we had an aircraft in the air – out of danger, and heading north to have a look around.

Andy releases a dove to bring back an olive branch

At this stage we began to get more information about unfolding events and an American tsunami warning system (aptly named NOAH) indicated that the wave was at least a couple of hours from us. So it was time for a cup of tea and to make some plans.

Ready to spring into action; Clem and Jonny – our rapid response team

We gathered everyone together again and updated them on the situation, then in the time remaining, five of the six aircraft on station were launched to keep them out of danger, a second Sno Cat with supplies was sent up the hill, and in the hour before we were due to be hit, the whole base was evacuated to high on the glacier to wait and see what happened.

Everyone on base is tallied out as they escape up the glacier to safety.

But as with all these things, for those of us with plenty of time to prepare for the worst, it came to nothing. The time of the wave came and went, so as it became clear that any danger had passed we allowed everyone back down from the glacier and onto station to warm up with a cup of tea. Our tide recorder had measured an increase of 20cm as the wave passed.

Off Base for a Holiday

Back in January I got away from the hustle and bustle of base for a couple of weeks, out to some of our field camps further south and much deeper into Antarctica. I was about as ready as someone can be to get away from base - by this I mean I would have killed someone if I had stayed at Rothera another day.

First it was off to Sky Blu, our forward operating station which is based at a natural formation of blue ice; which is basically a huge ice rink. Here our largest aircraft, the Dash 7 can land on wheels (it dosnt have skis) and unload its cargo of food, fuel, and scientific equipment to support the base in this isolated location; over 800 miles from Rothera and 150 miles from the nearest human occupied site - an American field camp at a site called Patriot Hills

Sky Blu, a collection of melon huts, weather haven and pyramid tents

I spent about a week at Sky Blu, driving machines to clear snow from the runway, raising tents, refueling planes, and generally helping with the running of the site.

Eventually it was time to head south again, this time by a smaller aircraft, a Twin Otter; fitted with wheel skis, these aircraft are able to land pretty much anywhere and are the workhorses which take our sledge parties and their equipment into the deep field, about as far away from civilisation as it is possible to get.

Arrival at Rabid by Twin Otter

I was being taken to a deep field depot known as Rabid, here a sledge party of four people (Dr Andy Smith, Roger Stilwell, Iain Rudkin, and Sam Doyle; collectively known as sledge November) had been working for over two months conducting seismic surveys, GPS work, and radar surveys of the Rutford ice stream on the edge of the Ellsworth mountain range.

The Ellsworth Mountains - the tiny black dots at the base of the peaks are scientists on skidoos

Me with the Ellsworth range in the background

Rabid field camp

My job here, other than to help my mate Rog drink all his whisky, was to move the fuel depot a few miles upstream to create a new depot called Beamish (I dont know why its called this, it just is) which will be used in several years time on a planned project to drill through the ice and collect a sample of the bedrock from deep below. Andy Smith has calculated the position that the depot should be placed now, so that in four years time it will arrive in the right location for his work as the flow of the ice stream takes it towards the coast. Clever eh?

The fuel depot to be moved - lots for drums

Twin Otter returns to pick me up

After a few days of moving drums of aviation fuel and working in 24hour glorious sunshine, the new depot was set up and my work here completed, so the Twin Otter aircraft came to pick me up; returning me to Sky Blu for a few more days.

I couldn't avoid the inevitable and eventually I had to board the Dash and return to Rothera, the base motto; Work is Freedom, I hear we are getting it put up on a big sign.

In the cockpit of the Dash - they do look where they are flying sometimes, and even hold the controls on occasion

Blue seas and blue skies - view from the Dash